Every business should have an online presence. Getting your business into the internet is easy. The tricky part is making it noticeable. It calls for strategic marketing. You need to have in-depth knowledge of your target market and work on building brand trust using the right channels.
Gone are the days when marketing involved shoving a product down the consumer’s throat. A value-driven online marketing approach is the way to go. This marketing approach goes beyond the product. It involves building a relationship with the consumer and creating deep value in their life.
The best thing about online marketing is that you can use analytical tools to gauge the success of your campaigns. Analytical tools can help you make better decisions and keep watch of your competitors while you stay on top of market trends.
Effective online advertising does not have to cost a fortune. There are platforms that you can use to gain exposure for free. As your brand grows, you can later invest in high-cost campaigns.
What Ways Can Someone Advertise Online?
Here are ten strategies to begin your online marketing campaign
1) Create a Blog
Assuming you do have a high-quality website where buyers can view your products and make purchases, you need to create a blog section. Use the blog to create high-quality content. It should be informative. Consistently creating valuable content establishes you as an authority in the industry. And this builds customers’ confidence in your products.
There are over 1.7 billion websites on the internet. You need to make your site discoverable to search engines using SEO. SEO content ranks your website high on search result pages and drives traffic to your website.
2) Guest Post in an Authority Site
Having SEO-friendly posts on your blog may not provide enough exposure. Make your presence felt in established websites such as Forbes, Medium, and HuffPost. Write for credible blogs related to your brand.
The content you create should be high-quality, well-researched, and insightful. Use a unique voice and write about topics related to the services you provide. And ensure that each article has a link back to your website.
3) Make Good Use of Social Media
Social media is an excellent marketing tool. If used right, it could build loyal customers. Don’t just specialize on Facebook, use Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube as well. Pay for Facebook and YouTube ads, and have your message reach your target audience.
Maintain an active presence across all social media channels. Join LinkedIn groups and participate actively in discussions. Share your blog posts, write valuable content, and respond to queries and comments promptly. Handle negative feedback gracefully. Develop a relationship with your followers. Encourage interaction by asking questions and holding live Q&A sessions.
4) Use Instagram Influencer Marketing
Never underestimate the impact influencers have on their followers. And they command a sizeable following. They can influence the decision-making of your target customers for a fee.
You need to choose your influencer carefully. Their audience should match your target market. Your influencer should have a high engagement rate and a good reputation. Using scandalous personalities, no matter how famous and popular, could have you losing some of your already loyal customers.
5) Email Marketing
This is among the most affordable methods of online marketing. It gets easier when using an email marketing tool such as Aweber and Constant Contact. You get to speak directly to past and existing customers, prospects, and leads. With the right analytical tools to provide insights, you can send highly personalized emails that are sure to increase your conversion rate.
You can gather email addresses by providing free samples. You can also create valuable content on your website that prompts users to sign up for your newsletter. When sending emails, use eye-catching subject lines, and preview texts. Provide time-limited discounts, stir the reader’s curiosity, and be relevant.
6) Create Social Proof
Consumers need assurance that they can trust your brand. They will seek information about your business before making a buying decision. Social proofing involves creating a positive perception of your business in the buyers’ eyes. You can achieve this by showing the consumer that their peers or favorite celebrities are buying your product.
Use incentives to encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on popular review websites. Add testimonials to your site or give visual proof of your product’s effectiveness. For instance, show before and after pictures of customers who have used your product. If you have awards, display them on your site.
7) Find Opportunities to Showcase Your Expertise
You attract customers by showing genuine concern for their welfare. And it, in turn, builds their confidence in your skills and products. Besides writing articles, find opportunities to offer free advice, and strategically drop a link to your website. For instance, join popular forums in your industry and become an active contributor.
Online conferences are also an excellent platform to build yourself as an authority. For added exposure, find conferences that have a large audience such as TED. Make the recordings available on your website. Host webinars with your prospects and leads, and give them insightful information as you engage one on one. Give free samples and services at the end.
8) Advertise on Search Engines and Websites
You can advertise your business on search engines such as Google Ads. The pay per click (PPC) advertising model involves having your ad on search result pages and paying a fee for every click your ad gets. You can also bid on keywords and have your ad displayed for every search query or keyword that matches your business.
Extend your ads to websites and news sites using banner ads. These are graphic displays on the side or top of a website. They advertise a business. When visitors click on the banner, it directs them to the advertiser’s website.
9) Create a YouTube Channel
Your blog will focus on readers. Target non-readers using YouTube videos such as tutorials. Attracting viewers to your channel will require patience and strategy. Optimize your videos for YouTube search results by naming them using target keywords, and optimizing the video description as well.
Ensure that you create valuable, relevant, and interesting videos. Your focus should be on educating your viewers in an easy-to-understand language. Add a link back to your site in the description.
10) Make Use of Business Listing Sites
Local listings are free and an excellent platform to reach people looking for a business in your local area. Sign up your business on Google Places, Yahoo Local, and Bing Local. Ensure that the information you provide is up to date. The address should be precise so that your business appears on Google Maps.
If there are community websites for your local area, take advantage, and place an ad. It may come at a fee, but you are sure of reaching your target audience.
Tips to Successfully Advertise Online
Advertising your business online requires strategy, patience, and a lot of research.
To begin with, create a good website. Broken links will only hold you back and discourage potential customers. Few people are willing to spend time on a website that is hard to navigate. Ensure that your site is user-friendly, both on mobile phones and computers.
Know your target audience. This will make it easier to choose the best marketing channel. If your audience is active on social media, you may want to optimize these channels. It will also make it easier to choose the best influencer; use targeted ads, and design adverts that communicate to your target.
Think about your goal for advertising and create a clear and concise message that matches it. Are you trying to popularize your brand, generate leads, or introduce a new product? Design a message that helps you achieve this.
Have a budget. Advertising on platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook, and banner ads require a monetary investment. Have a plan on how much you are willing to spend on your marketing campaign. And find a platform that will provide the best ROI.
To maximize your outreach, combine more than one marketing channel. For instance, create videos on your YouTube channel and hold webinars on your website as well. Invite influencers to participate in your videos.
Stay alert for trends in the digital marketing industry. What you used to attract clients last year may not be effective this year. This especially applies when optimizing your website for search engines. Google is always updating its algorithm and search index. Outsourcing your blog management to an SEO specialist will ensure your website optimized at all times.
Always focus on providing value to your customers. It will not just attract customers, but build loyalty as well. Provide excellent customer service. A happy customer will be your best marketing agent.
What are 10 Online Advertisements that are Killing It Using These Strategies?
While every company is unique in its advertising strategy depending on the goals and budget, these ten companies have mastered the art of online advertising.
1. Under Armour
Under Armour is an American based manufacturing company that focuses on creating footwear, sports, and casual clothes. Their partnership with Dwayne Johnson, a popular fitness figure, is a great example of a perfect brand-influencer relationship. The partnership started in January 2016, and a sneaker released in May 2024 sold out in less than 24 hours.
Both Under Armour and Dwayne share common values, toughness, and authenticity. This makes it smooth for Dwayne to connect with the company’s existing customers while the influencer’s followers can have confidence in the brand’s line of products.
2. LEGO
LEGO is the ideal example of successful online marketing through YouTube. The Danish company produces popular LEGO-brand toys made from plastic brick. They provide a variety of games and are among the world’s top manufacturers of play materials.
Their YouTube Channel has over eight million subscribers. Their videos are mainly for entertainment purposes, which is in line with the purpose of their products. Their videos gather as much as 5 million views within their release. And this translates to more exposure for the brand.
3. Manner
The Manner is an Austrian company specializing in confectionery. With the aim of raising brand awareness and purchase intent in two German regions, they invested in a nine-week Facebook video ad campaign. Their investment saw a six-point and a three-point lift in ad recall and purchase intent respectfully. There was a one-point lift in preference, and the campaign reached 4.3 million people.
This is an example of how an optimized Facebook ad can do for your business. And it does not have to last too long. With their goal in mind and a target market, Manner was able to realize a return in investment in less than three months.
4. XO
A well-designed homepage with the right visuals will quickly pass your message to prospects. XO, a private jet company, is a perfect example of a well-optimized website. Important details about their flight charters are communicated in a short and precise message.
The website has a blog section that has numerous SEO-friendly and informative articles about travel. It has valuable tips, recommendations, and insightful articles relevant to their target audience. Their FAQ section covers almost every question a potential customer would have. This boosts the conversion rate of both organic and paid traffic.
5. Zappos
Zappos is an e-commerce company that focuses on shoes. The company has established itself in the industry through its smart digital campaign strategies. They cultivate relationships with their customers and prospects and have gathered a Facebook following of 2.3 million people.
Their customer service is beyond excellent. They fulfill their customers’ needs in creative ways, such as a 365-day money-back guarantee. This attracts positive reviews and creates social proof. They provide incentives for customers to sign up, such as points for purchases and personalized recommendations. It, in turn, provides a platform for the brand to carry out extensive email marketing.
6. American Express
This multinational financial services corporation with headquarters in New York has created what can be defined as a super-website. They have focused on creating value for businesses by creating an open platform where experts from all industries provide insights and inspiration in the form of blog articles.
With all the articles being SEO-friendly, it draws organic traffic. The high-value information visitors get, such as money management lessons, builds their confidence in the brand. This, and the “Refer a Friend” reward system, encourage a high conversion rate.
8. Airbnb
Airbnb has built its brand on social proof. Their homepage has numerous trust-worthy reviews from their customers. Given that trust and security is of great concern when booking accommodation from individual homeowners, the testimonies from other customers builds the confidence of prospects.
They use user-generated images across their social media channels. Encouraging their customers to share their stories creates a highly engaged community where both hosts and travelers learn from each other and, in the process, attract new customers. Airbnb’s Instagram page has 4.7million followers and 16 million followers on Facebook.
9. Trello
When it comes to creating brand awareness through webinars, Trello is on the right track. They do not just use the webinars to show people how to use Trello using easy tutorials, but they also create valuable content. You can find personal productivity tips, advice on working as a team, guidance for business owners, and much more.
Trello has also created a webinar library on the website for on-demand videos. This means that you do not have to watch the webinar live. They allow free access to past videos where you can benefit from the rich content. Their blog is equally insightful. Trello has also created a user-friendly website that works perfectly on both mobile gadgets, including phones and desktops.
10. Intercom
Intercom has also mastered the use of webinars for online marketing. But they make it better by inviting top influencers and business personalities and holding high-quality discussions. You can watch the recorded webinars or sign up for upcoming webinars. The content ranges from tutorials to insightful business tips.
They also provide a 14-day free trial, a strategy that attracts a lot of sign-ups. Intercom has also added success stories on their website. These testimonials are well detailed and include numbers, which creates social proof. An entire web page is dedicated to these stories.
No matter the size of your business, startup, or established, aggressive marketing is necessary to capture new markets and stay ahead of the competition. Come up with a marketing strategy based on the goals you want to achieve and your target market.
Create a user-friendly website and post insightful, SEO articles. Build the customers’ trust in your brand using testimonials and positive reviews. Set yourself as an authority in the field by providing expert advice and industry-related content in webinars, social media pages, and YouTube channels.
If you are running a local business, make it discoverable to your target market by adding it to local listings. You can also communicate directly to potential customers via email marketing.
Other businesses have successfully advertised their brands online and built a loyal market, so can you.
Frank Stovall is an avid traveler, rock climber, and adventurer. As the active public relations manager for Fly Xo where one can book a flight on private jets in an instant, he is able to travel far and wide with Joshua Tree National Park being one of his favorite recent destinations.